Dear Friends and Family
by Mrs Dionysius O'Gall
Summary: After receiving a Christmas letter from a DAR member, Emily hops on the bandwagon, setting off a chain of letters for Christmas, 2006.
1. Mrs Richard Gilmore

"Oh good grief, Juanita!" Emily called from the sitting room. "Don't just leave the mail out here in the hall!"

"Yes, Mrs. Gilmore," Juanita replied, as she entered the room carrying a stack of holiday-related mail.

"Oh for goodness' sake! Catalogues, catalogues…nothing but…haven't they noticed that there isn't a single trailer park in this zip code?"

Emily pushed the pile of mail away, only to be captivated by the glossy exterior of a very luxe vellum envelope. Intrigued, she reached over to fetch it from the pile.

"The Moores" headlined the return address, carefully rendered in calligraphy.

"Why, Catherine Thurston Moore!" Emily delightedly exclaimed, carefully opening the letter. Slipping the equally heavy vellum from the envelope, she opened it and began reading.

"Dearest Friends and Family,  
Welcome! Welcome to the first edition of the Moore Family Christmas letter!"

Aghast, Emily dropped the letter. A Christmas letter? A FAMILY Christmas letter? From a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution? "Maybe we really do have trailer parks in this zip code now," Emily mumbled, continuing to read in spite of herself.

"Well at least she used the best stationery and it was beautifully penned, not one of those laser printer abominations," Emily informed Juanita, who was still patiently standing by Emily's chair. "I'll have to check with Vivian and Bitsy; maybe this is one of those modern things to do, and if they're doing it, I don't want to be left out…"

---

Four days later, Juanita answered the doorbell.

"Delivery for Mrs. Richard Gilmore," the messenger proclaimed. "Will you sign?"

"Si."

"Juanita, is that the delivery from the printer?"

"Yes, ma'am…"

"Well don't take forever, bring it in here…"

---

Dear Friends and Family,  
Welcome to the first edition of the Gilmore Christmas letter! I am delighted to share with you all the wonderful events that have blessed our family this past year.

The Year 2006 was as usual, a wonderful year full of charity benefits, tennis gatherings, golf outings, fine wines, vacations and thriving business adventures. However, this year, we also had some truly hard times (my devastating surgery) and very joyous times.

Richard's business continues to do extraordinarily well! His success led to his appointment as a PROFESSOR at Yale! Richard so enjoys mingling with the young people; nothing makes him happier than to know that others are benefiting from his vast knowledge and experience. Along with his career, his golf game continues in fine form, and luckily this allows me to spend most of my time devoted to the many charities I am involved with. And I hope I can also spend some time advising the other faculty wives!

Along with my new role as Yale faculty wife, I sponsored the Cotillion for the Fall Season. One simply can't begin early enough to stress the finer points of living to today's young people. Besides sustaining the local chapter of the DAR, I have been very busy making sure that my tennis game continues to thrive. Richard and I also took an extended vacation to Europe this summer, where we enjoyed visiting our many friends. As the grandparents of an active Yale senior, we also attended the many activities that Yale sponsors for the parents and grandparents of its students.

When not spending time with our pursuits, we enjoy significant time in New York, where we became patrons of the wonderful artist Kiki Smith. We are so thrilled to have discovered her!

However, all my charitable work almost was for naught when my eyes were butchered by an eye surgeon who I shall not name. (But suffice it to say that Adelina Parker is no longer part of the Orchestra League.) Fortunately, Richard was able to negotiate a handsome settlement, but that did not come close to ameliorating the tragedy I suffered. I was unable to drive myself! And competent hired drivers are even more difficult to find than household help! All this right before our trip to Europe!

Of course, the light of our lives continues to be our lovely granddaughter, Rory. As you may recall, Rory took a leave of absence from Yale last year to undertake a management internship with the DAR. She effortlessly transitioned from this internship back to Yale, where she immediately became the editor of the incomparable Yale Daily News! We are proud of our granddaughter and equally proud of the new science building, the Rory Gilmore Astronomy Building! I'm thinking of commissioning Kiki to do a portrait of our Rory--there's so much wall space inside there!

Rory continues to do well at Yale and is on her way to graduating, summa cum laude no doubt, this spring. Socially, she's still seeing young Logan Huntzberger, and has enjoyed several visits from him ever since he took on his new business venture in London, England. She enjoys an abiding friendship with the former Miss Honor Huntzberger and served as Maid of Honor at the wedding of her childhood friend, the recording artist Miss Kim Lane.

All this reminiscing of weddings brings me to the most important news, that concerning my daughter Lorelai Victoria. The year began with Lorelai engaged to Lucas Danes, a Stars Hollow restaurateur. She had planned June 3 nuptials, selecting a divine original Monique Lhuillier creation. Unfortunately, custody issues with Mr. Danes' child from a previous union prompted Lorelai to wisely reevaluate her choices, and it is thus that I am thrilled to say that Lorelai Victoria Gilmore is now the blissful Mrs. Christopher Haden!

We are so happy that Lorelai and Christopher finally tied the knot in the romantic village of Giverny, France! Their private ceremony in a most picturesque chapel included a beautiful dinner, complete with the finest assortment of local fromages and a chocolate mousse that apparently was to die for!

Rory, as you can imagine, is the happiest I have ever seen her--so wonderfully thrilled to finally have the family she always needed and deserved. She is delighted to be a half-sister to Christopher's daughter Georgia Haden, who resides with her mother in Paris, France, and is looking forward to having a real sibling or two now that her parents have married.

So the Gilmore family had a wonderful year, as usual, and we are looking forward to an even happier 2007. Life is perfect, and we'd like to share our good fortune. Perhaps we'll see you at the dedication of the Rory Gilmore Astronomy Building, or socially along with the Christopher Hadens.

With fond wishes for a Happy New Year,  
Emily Gilmore (Mrs. Richard Gilmore)

---

"Ooh, that's really pretty paper," Liz crooned as she leaned across the diner counter.

"Geez, Louise, Liz. Cover up; your brother doesn't want to see those hanging on the counter," TJ interrupted.

"Grandma's written a Christmas letter," Rory mumbled, somewhat embarrassed, quickly crumpling the letter and stuffing it into her purse.

"Christmas letters! I love those! Hey, maybe I should write one, eh TJ? Aw, Doula, have you had enough on this side?"

iNext: Liz's turn.../i 


	2. Liz, TJ, Doula and Jess

"So now is come our joyful'st feast,  
Let every man be jolly.  
Each room with ivy leaves is drest,  
And every post with holly.  
Though some churls at our mirth repine,  
Round your foreheads garlands twine,  
Drown sorrow in a cup of wine,  
And let us all be merry."

* * *

Merry Christmastide!

Good people, dear friends and family, let me introduce myself, for you do not know me yet. Especially if you are part of the Ren Faire.

My name is Doula, and I am the bonniest lass ever, born to Queen Elizabeth and King TJ, bringing light to many (mainly my Uncle Luke), on a dark November day.

And I shall tell you the tale of the year 2006.

* * *

"TJ. TJ! Pick up the baby, already!" Liz fiercely whispered across the diner table she'd retreated to after Rory left with Emily's crumpled beautiful vellum. "You know how Luke is about crying babies in the diner!"

"Why can't you do it?" TJ inquired in what was definitely not an inside voice. "I ain't even awake yet. Geez, I thought Luke over there was a mean taskmaster; you're worse."

"Your daddy, he's such a churl," Liz whispered conspiratorially as she picked up her daughter. "He says he's your daddy and says he wants to be your daddy, but…"

"Ok, ok. Give little Doula to her daddy." TJ reached across the table for Doula.

"Not that way! Hold her this way…and do not try to give her something to drink from your glass. Or anybody else's. She's a baby."

"So what are you doin' there? Writin' a letter to Cousin Sissy?"

"Nope. I'm writing our Christmas letter. From me, you, Doula and Jess."

"Christmas letter, huh? First, a guy's gettin' married in his best tights. Then his girl and him have a house in escrow, then they get a Doula, and now a Christmas letter!"

"Go, TJ. Take her for a spin around the square."

"At least you've stopped crying, baby," TJ crooned to his daughter. "Don't want to piss off Uncle Lukey. No sirree, litte missy. Uncle Lukey…"

"Go!" Liz admonished, as she returned her attention to the letter she was carefully penning on a piece of bright pink construction paper from April's homework stash.

* * *

So the bonnie year 2006 began when my Daddy finished up the renovations he did to my Uncle Luke's house. Oh wait. Uncle Luke was supposed to get married to Aunt Lorelai and live with her in the house my Daddy renovated. But he didn't. Get married.

But my daddy is a most excellent carpenter. And he was the big main contractor on this big job for Uncle Luke, and Uncle Luke is a very important man in our little town of Stars Hollow and Aunt Lorelai, who's not really my aunt but almost was, is the Queen. And because Uncle Luke made him the contractor, Daddy got a lot of jobs for the rest of the year. And he made a very pretty crib for me. Uncle Luke helped.

My mommy did not make a lot of jewelry this year because she was busy growing me and being a mommy to my big brother, Jess. Jess is a famous author now and lives in Philadelphia, which daddy says is on another planet. Speaking of my brother Jess, Mommy wants everyone to know that she did really good this time. She did all the healthy things a mommy is supposed to do. But Jess is famous anyway. He has a book. He's a big hero in our family.

I spend most of my time drinking yummy milk because my mommy was really healthy this time. The rest of the time, I spend watching the world go by in my little corner of the world. Uncle Luke's diner.

Poor Uncle Luke. Something bad and something good happened. He did not marry Aunt Lorelai, but he did find my cousin April. She's so funny. When she holds me, she holds me way out to there. She gave me a cute stuffed toy called the Rhinovirus. I don't think that's an animal. Uncle Luke always smiles when he is with my brother Jess and my cousin April. And I like being at the diner. That's where my mommy's writing this letter right now.

So I think this was a pretty darn good year for my family. Especially since I was born. And now my daddy is a daddy and my Uncle Luke is an uncle again.

* * *

Liz put down her pen and stared out the diner windows, watching as TJ rounded the corner with the baby buggy. She smiled, then picked up the pen again and carefully wrote:

Mommy wishes you a Christmas filled with gold coins in jeweled pouches. And she says to come to our house for Twelfth Night and to drink wassail with mommy and daddy. I'll be the cute little girl sleeping in the pink and white crib.

And so I bid you a hearty farewell, until we make merry again. May your coffers be full in 2007!

Love,  
Liz, TJ, Doula, and Jess

* * *

"Hey Lane?"

The heavily pregnant waitress approached her. "Need a refill?" She gestured at Liz's now-empty cup of herbal tea.

"Ya. That would be great. Do you know where there's a copier?"

"You mean like a xerox? There's one at Doose's, but he charges 50 cents a copy. Or you could go to the bookstore…"

"I only need a handful of these. It's our Christmas letter! Doula wrote it!" Liz proudly handed the letter to Lane for her to read.

_Next: Mrs. Van Gerbig..._

* * *

_Author's notes:_ The Christmas poem is verse 1 of **"A Christmas Carol"** by George Wither (1588-1667). 


	3. Lane and Zach Van Gerbig

"Lane! Come here, please." 

"Yes Mama. I'll be right there."

"Lane! Lane!"

"I'll be right there, Mama!" Lane reiterated, as she wended her way through the antiques in her mother's shop. "It's not easy for me these days…"

"Ah, there you are," Mrs. Kim smoothly continued, as she pulled out a chair at the kitchen table. "Here. Sit."

Once Lane had eased herself into a chair, her mother thrust a stack of paper at her.

"What's this, Mama?" Lane warily asked.

"Sign. Start signing," Mrs. Kim commanded, handing her daughter a pen.

"What's this?" Lane asked, curious.

"It's your Merry Christmas letter."

"My merry what?" Lane responded as she gave the top sheet of paper the once-over.

"The Van Gerbig Merry Christmas letter. American tradition for married couples."

Lane had no answer to the look her mother was gifting her with at that moment.

"You must sign each one. Then we send out to everyone."

"But Mama, there must be a hundred of these."

"Not one hundred, seventy-two." And after a beat, Mrs. Kim continued. "Do you think I need to translate it into Korean?"

"No! No!" Lane quickly responded, grabbing the pen. "OK, OK, I'll sign them. But first let me read…"

"Very well. You have one hour before the postman comes for express mail pickup."

* * *

Dear Friends and Family,  
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope that 2006 has been kind to you, and that 2007 will be even better. This has been a good year for us, and for that, we, the Kim family, and Lane's new husband, are thankful.

At this time last year, Lane and her Seventh Day Adventist musical ensemble had returned to Stars Hollow following a lengthy tour. Her mother commissioned Mr. Zack Van Gerbig, her musical ensemble's singer, to compose a new musical piece. Following a lengthy process, he was chosen as worthy of receiving Lane's hand in marriage.

Although the musical ensemble tour and Lane concentrated primarily on churches within a 5-to-6-hour drive, the tour was very successful.

In April, Lane and Zach were married and celebrated with two ceremonies for the sixty-two Koreans in attendance. MR. Zack Van Gerbig was a very good groom and wore the proper Korean garments. After the wedding, unfortunately came the honeymoon.

After the honeymoon, Lane returned and was pregnant. The Kim family is going to be welcoming twins in the New Year. This is most auspicious.

Lane continues to work at Luke's Diner when she is not busy with her musical ensemble. As part of her duties there, she was excited to get an opportunity to spend time each week minding the proprietor's daughter. Excellent practice for a mother to be!

Zack continues to provide for his family with various jobs and working on his songs. Both Lane and Zack have taken on the Christian duty of carrying for a young man, Brian. Otherwise, most of their time is spent scheduling the musical ensemble, driving to engagements, driving home from engagements and working on music.

We are thankful for your support and friendship and feel blessed as we continue to grow in our marriage, especially during the Holiday season, which Lane loves.

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and most auspicious Happy New Year. And when you are in Stars Hollow, please keep in touch and stop by Kim's Antiques.

Mr. and Mrs. Zack and Lane Van Gerbig

* * *

"Mama," Lane looked up at her mother, who was still watching her with an expectant look on her face. "This is your letter, not mine…"

"But a proper married couple needs a proper letter," Mrs. Kim insisted.

"But Mama…"

"Very well, I will send them out without your signature."

"But Momma, you can't just send this out…" Lane continued to protest. "It's not hip. It's not me and Zack. It just not…"

"I see. My daughter is ashamed," Mrs. Kim concluded, even as she was interrupted by a customer. "I'll be right there.'

"Mama, let me think about it. Let me talk with Zack. I promise, we'll send out cards or something this year."

"Don't touch anything! Be right there!" her mother continued. "Oh. This area is not part of the store. May I help you?"

"Sure. Hello. I'm Anna Nardini, April's…"

"I know who you are," Mrs. Kim interrupted. "Are you here to spy?"

"No no. I assure you, we compete in different, uh, markets," Anna Nardini assured the antiques dealer. "It's just that I've actually never been here, even all those years ago, and now I'm always rushing with April and…"

"You break, you pay."

"I understand." Anna turned her attention to Lane. "Hi Lane. Thanks for watching April the other night."

"No problem," Lane replied, clearly uncomfortable.

"So you not signing?" Mrs. Kim interjected.

"No. Not right away. Please, mama…" Lane implored one last time, even as Mrs. Kim huffed and disappeared into another corner of the store.

"Mothers," Anna sympathetically clucked.

"Yeah. Can you believe, she wrote a Christmas letter for me and Zach?" Lane arose and replaced the kitchen chair. "I'm headed over to the diner. See you there…"

"Thanks again, Lane," Anna replied, surreptitiously picking up a copy of the letter as she browsed in the store.

_Next: Anna Nardini…_


	4. Ms A Nardini

Dad?" 

"Yes?"

"Are you writing one of these this year?" April Nardini waved a bundle of papers under his nose.

Luke leaned in, over the counter. "What are those?"

"Christmas letters! All the Christmas letters we got this year…Here's one from grandma…" April responded as Luke struggled to maintain a neutral expression.

"Christmas letters, huh? Can't say that I've ever written one…"

April continued shuffling through her handful of papers, stopping at a handwritten page. "Look, there's even one from Aunt Liz and Uncle TJ! Actually, it's written by Doula, except Doula isn't old enough to have the fine motor skills a person needs to be able to write, but anyway…"

"Doula? Liz?" Luke reached out and took the letter from his daughter, and took a moment to quickly glance over it. After a half-minute, he sighed an embarrassed: "Oh."

"Oh, sorry Dad. The Lorelai stuff…" April acknowledged. "Anyway," she continued in a brighter tone, "Mom said I should write one, post it on my website. What do you think? And can I get a myspace now that I am way past 13? Please? I mean, technically, 13-year-olds can sign up for any site they want, but Mom says…"

"My what?"

"Myspace. It's for…social networking. Getting in touch with my friends. I am going to need it once my stupid Mom makes us move."

"April. You know that your mom is just doing the best she can…" Luke returned Liz's letter to her. "So your Mom said no to this my page thing?"

"Myspace. Yes, she claims it is evil and full of predators, and…"

"Predators? Well she's right, then. What's so wrong with writing letters to your friends, anyway? Or calling them on the phone…" Luke countered.

"Oh Dad, please…" April rolled her eyes. "As if anyone writes letters…"

"French fries?" Luke asked, hoping to divert his daughter from sad thoughts of her impending move to New Mexico.

"Yeah. OK."

"César? Fries for April!" Luke turned his attention back to April. "So, what would you write in a Christmas letter?"

April reached into her backpack and pulled out a legal pad. "I made a list, chronologically. Lots of cool things happened this year. Number one has to be you!"

A strange fleeting look passed over her father's face, a mixture of pride and regret. "Me?"

"Yes, you." April underlined the entry under January. "I finally got a dad."

"Well…"

"And then there was the Math Contest field trip. And meeting my cousin Jess. And Lorelai's daughter Rory. And seeing Constitution Hall. I thought the Liberty Bell was overrated, didn't you?"

Luke chuckled in response, trying to keep up with his daughter's rapid-fire train of thought.

"Then, big event. I became an official teenager."

"That you did."

"And you threw the coolest birthday party. Ever."

The expression of pride and regret deepened over Luke's face. "Really? I'm sure you had some great parties the first 12 birthdays…"

"Well duh. But that party was just so…so…" April stopped for a second. "Fun. Ya, it was more than fun. Remember how we ran through the streets? And Mom was so mad about my hair afterwards! But you wanna know what the best part was?"

"The presents?" Luke ventured a guess.

"No, silly! The way you had us all thinking it was going to be the lamest party ever! And then you had Lorelai show up like she was the cavalry in an old western film…coming in to save the day! Only it was so obvious that she wasn't…you just set it up that way."

"I did…?"

"Totally." A huge smile crossed April's face as she adjusted her glasses. "I just loved the way that Lorelai…"

"Uh," Luke interrupted, "what about the rest of the year?"

"Well, my two summer vacations. The trip to the cabin with you, when was that?"

"In June. The weekend of June…June…3," Luke supplied.

"Right. Long weekend in June. Right after school let out for our summer interim break. You spent the entire time moping, but then when I got back, Mom took me on a trip to New York."

"Where you…"

"Undoubtedly engaged in massive feats of consumerism," both chimed in simultaneously.

April laughed. "And then it was back to school, except I got to come here." She wrinkled her forehead. "Must definitely include that. Moved into the dungeon above the diner. Except, can a dungeon be above anything?"

"It's not a dungeon."

"Hello! Not anymore. Now it's nicely decorated…"

"Thank you."

"And can't forget my surgery. It's so cool that I have a scar. Other kids have laparoscopic surgery and only get little marks. Mine was a whole scar."

"Well it looks like you certainly have enough material there…" Luke concluded. "You sure you don't want to add anything about your adventures with Freddie?" he teased.

"Ew. No way. I can't believe you even said his name!" April replied, aghast.

"Hey, your mom just pulled up," Luke noted.

"Right. Time to go. I know!" April concluded as she gathered her counter-strewn belongings. "I think I'll just put my list on my webpage. Don't forget to bug mom about a myspace for me. Bye dad!"

April leaned over to plant a kiss on her father's cheek.

"Tomorrow?" Luke asked, hopefully.

"Saturday, silly. And no school Monday. Christmas."

"Well, I'll see you after Christmas then. Have a good flight and follow all the safety instructions…"

"You too dad. I mean, Merry Christmas, dad."

"We'll celebrate when you get back…" Luke shyly came out from behind the counter as April moved to open the diner door.

"Ill miss you so much, dad…" April suddenly added, quickly running to give him a hug, then running out the door even as her dad whispered, "Love you…"

_Next: Miss Georgia Haden_


End file.
